Tradition may yet reign for the next Enzo, as Autocar reports Ferrari CEO Amedeo Felisa said that the Enzo successor will be powered by a mid-mounted V-12 and also utilize a carbon-fiber chassis. Though previously reported that a twin-turbo V-8 might be destined for Ferrari’s next super car, it appears the Italian sports car maker will follow a formula similar to that of the last Enzo, and F50 before it.

The announcement of the next Enzo’s powerplant wasn’t the only thing recently revealed about the upcoming supercar. Speaking to Autocar at the launch of the Ferrari 458 Spider, Felisa said the Enzo successor could also make use of hybrid technology. Ferrari already announced its intention to hybridize much of its future lineup at this year’s Geneva show in March, and we’ve seen 599 hybrid prototypes undergoing testing in Germany.

Felisa also told Autocar that the lessons Ferrari learned with its Formula 1 program and the development of KERS (Kinetic Energy Recovery System) for racing applications could prove useful in production cars. Still, Felisa maintained that such a system, if employed on a road-going car, would not focus solely on performance, but efficiency as well.

The Enzo successor will sport a carbon-fiber monocoque chassis even though most of Ferraris other cars primarily use aluminum in their structure.

“The using of carbon fiber does not make sense,” Felisa told in an  interview. “If you compare what you can get with some part done in composite  [with] full aluminum, you are very close in terms of weight…but the cost difference is huge.”

In addition to the weight savings versus cost argument, Felisa also stressed the difficulty of assessing damage to a carbon-fiber chassis after a crash. Whatever technology Ferrari has in store for its next Enzo, as well as the rest of its future lineup, the automaker says it’s focused on keeping its identity intact. Ferrari chairman Luca di Montezemolo told Autocar that an official reveal of the Enzo successor would happen by the end of 2012, but a final name has yet to be chosen.

Would you like the successor to the Ferrari Enzo have a V12 and a carbon fiber chassis?

Join the discussion. Please leave a comment.

Check me out on Twitter: http://twitter.com/FerrariDreams and Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/FerrariDreams.

Please Share with your friends on Facebook and tweet on Twitter by pressing the buttons below the pictures.

Source: wot.motortrend.com and rumors.automobilemag.com

Ferrari will replace two of its five core models, the 430 Spider and the 599 GTB Fiorano, in the next two years, while adding a sportier variant to its  best-selling model, the 458 Italia.

Here is a look at Ferrari’s future product plans:

458 Italia: U.S. shipments of Ferrari’s best-selling model began in June last year. A freshening is planned in 2014. Ferrari is adding a sportier  variant, the 458 Scuderia, in 2013.

458 Spider: At the Frankfurt show in September, Ferrari will debut the 458 Spider, which will replace the 430 Spider. The powertrain will be unchanged,  while a retractable hard top will replace the canvas top offered on the 430. Sales in Europe begin in September. U.S. shipments follow in the first quarter of 2012.

California: A freshening for the Ferrari  California is planned for 2013.

599 GTB Fiorano: In 2012 Ferrari will replace the 599 GTB Fiorano with a redesigned model still known by its code-name, F152. The new car will remain a two-seat coupe with rear drive and a direct-injection V12 longitudinal  engine mounted in the front. The model will debut in March at the Geneva auto show, with European sales to begin in the summer and U.S. shipments by year end.

FF: The first all-wheel-drive Ferrari debuted in March at the Geneva show, went on sale in July in Europe and will arrive by year end in the States. Ferrari is building 800 units a year of the four-seat FF coupe; production is sold out until the end of 2012.

The FF, which stands for Ferrari Four, replaced the company’s 612 Scaglietti  flagship. The FF is marginally bigger and roomier but at 3,946 pounds weighs the  same as the Scaglietti despite adding awd.

The FF is powered by a new 660-hp, 6.3-liter V12 direct-injection engine that takes the car to 208 mph.

Limited-edition car: The successor to the Enzo limited-edition  supercar is set to go on sale in 2012. The all-carbon fiber model will be  powered with a new, normally aspirated V-12 and will herald weight-reduction and  fuel-saving technologies that Ferrari plans to adapt to its entire range by the  end of decade.

It is unclear how many units Ferrari plans to build. The company built 399 units of the Enzo, launched in 2002, and 349 units of predecessor, the 1995 F50.

Are you excited to see what new Ferraris are coming out in the next two years?

Join the discussion. Please leave a comment.

Check me out on Twitter: http://twitter.com/FerrariDreams and Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/FerrariDreams.

Please Share this article with your friends on Facebook and tweet on Twitter by pressing the buttons below the pictures.

Thank you!

Source: autoweek.com

The August Concorso Italiano, to be held at Laguna Seca Golf Ranch, Monterey, California, will once again open the traditional Monterey/Pebble Beach Weekend. Its unique format will feature more than 800 performance machines of Italian origin, in a setting that will facilitate conversations between people who love and appreciate them.

The third-ever gathering will show a clear focus on one particular Italian stallion, as Concorso has already sent the word out for owners to bring their F50s to the event. Only 349 units of the prized supercar were ever made, so any event where even a handful of them are present is a special one.

“We are pleased to announce the Ferrari F50 supercar reunion at Concorso Italiano this August. This is the third in a series of reunions of Ferrari supercars to be held at Concorso. The first Ferrari supercar, the 288 GTO, held its 25th anniversary reunion at Concorso in 2009. The GTO owners set a world record for the largest gathering of 288 GTOs in one location. In 2010 it was the F40 reunion and now we have the F50 reunion,” said Tom McDowell, President of Concorso Italiano.

The Ferrari F50 was a mid-engined range-topping sports car made by the famous Italian house. It was introduced in 1995, as a successor to the F40, to celebrate the company’s 50th anniversary. The car is a two-door, two-seater convertible that comes with a removable hardtop. It is powered by a 4.7-liter naturally-aspirated 60-valve V12 engine that was developed from the 3.5 L V12 used in the 1992 Ferrari F 92 A Formula One car.

The limited production run was justified at the time by Ferrari spokesman Antonio Ghini, who said that “Ferraris are something cultural, a monument. They must be hard to find, so we will produce one less car than the market.” The last F50 was produced in Maranello, Italy in July 1997.

What do you think about the Ferrari F50?
Join the discussion. Please leave a comment.
Check me out on Twitter: http://twitter.com/FerrariDreams and Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/FerrariDreams.

Source: autoevolution.com

Ferrari Enzo

Now they’re sitting in a garage in New Zealand begging to be freed from their packaging.

The collection of 25 Ferraris includes an Enzo, F50, and F40 if you’re interested in comparing the evolution of Maranello’s line-toppers. There’s also a pair of Daytonas, a 575 Superamerica, a 512 TR Spyder, and a 355 Challenge in race and regular spec. The Lamborghinis include a Diablo SE30 and two Countach 25th Anniversary Editions. The two Porsches are the rare (1-of-80) 964 911 Turbo S Leichtbaus.

And then it starts to get strange. An as-new Italdesign V12 Nazca sold along with a Cizeta V16? The Sultan of Brunei had one black Cizeta and one blue Cizeta. The black one already sold and the blue one looks exactly like this one. There are only eight, so the odds are pretty good it’s his. The Sultan also had an Italdesign Nazca, which is one of three for that prototype variation.

Either someone is pretending to sell the Sultan’s cars, or they’re actually selling the Sultan’s cars. Because Sultan Haji Hassanal Bolkiah is the head of an oil-rich state, he probably doesn’t have to sell off extra cars to raise capital. Who might? His brother “Playboy Prince” Jefri Bolkiah, who has recently been the subject of legal battles with former lawyers for not paying his fees, and with the Brunei Investment Authority because he appears to have lost $40 billion dollars after spending lavishly on things like statues of him having sex.

The Sultan’s got a habit of giving some of his lesser automobiles to his brother, which seems generous until you remember the Sultan himself owns an amazing collection that includes over 500 Mercedes, 360 Ferraris, 180 Bentleys, and 160 Porsches. Just to name a few. The current lawsuit against Jefri alleges he has a “history of concealment and dissipation of assets” and a past judgment mentions he surrendered “over 2000 cars.”

This wouldn’t be the first time one of the Sultan’s former cars went up for sale. This summer he sold one of his Ferrari F50s. So maybe Jefri isn’t unloading the cars, maybe the Sultan’s just making space in his garage for a new fleet of Bugattis.

We’ve contacted the seller to inquire about how the cars traveled from the Sultan’s collections — if they are indeed his cars — to New Zealand. There’s a large gray market for collectors cars attended to mostly by people who don’t like to talk about their craft, so we’re not expecting a response.

It’s possible there’s another collector in the world with the same mix of rare cars who never drove them and decided to put them up for sale. If it’s true, we want to meet this collector. In the meantime, if you’ve got $470,000 sitting around the Cizeta is a steal.

What would you do if you had this much money? Would you have this many Ferraris, Mercedes, Bentleys and Porsches?

Join the discussion. Please leave a comment.

Check me out on Twitter: http://twitter.com/FerrariDreams and Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/FerrariDreams .

Lamborghini Countach 25th Anniversary Edition

Blue Cizeta

Sultan of Brunei-Haji Hassanal Bolkiah

Source: businessinsider.com

Ferrari Enzo

People are eager to see Ferrari’s replacement for its famous Enzo supercar, and more details about the car are beginning to emerge as it moves along from concept towards production. The latest information comes from Ferrari CEO Amedeo Felisa, who indicated that the car will in fact use a direct-injected, twin-injected turbocharged V-8.

Ferrari verified it is working on a ”special series Enzo” set to debut in 2012 at Fiat’s five-year business plan. Other details include the use of lots of carbon fiber and no hybrid powertrain. Amedeo Felisa also hinted that the car is going to use a direct-injected, twin-turbocharged V-8, the opposite of earlier reports of the possibility of a twin-turbo V-6 or twin-turbo V-12. Reports indicate the engine will produce around 700 horsepower and use the vehicle’s lower weight for mind-bending performance.

“There are no plans for a six-cylinder engine today. Ferrari will not build a six-cylinder engine until customer attitudes towards smaller engines change,” Felisa told Autocar. “The perception today is that the number of cylinders equates to the possibilities of the car. That is why we are developing hybrid technology that can be applied to our V-8 and V-10 cars. Hybrid means we can protect the V-12.”

The most interesting aspect of Felisa’s statement is the mention of V-10-powered cars–an engine not found in Ferrari’s current lineup, not even in racing. This demostrates Ferrari is planning a V-10 engine for use in a car in the near future. Given Ferrari’s current lineup and the unveiling of the 599 HY-KERS, the future V-10 engine, if used at all, is likely to power Ferrari’s next large grand tourer, the 612 Scaglietti replacement.

Additionally, Felisa confirmed that Ferrari will use carbon fiber to lower the weight of the Enzo successor. “We will only use carbon fiber on very special cars which have a very low rate of production and which are not for everyday use, such as the new Enzo,” he said.

Besides validating that Ferrari will continue to use copious amounts of carbon fiber in its supercars as it did on the Enzo and F50, this shows Ferrari won’t follow rival McLaren’s example of using carbon fiber in its “everyday” cars. McLaren uses a carbon fiber monocoque in its latest MP4-12C roadgoing car. Both BMW and Mercedes-Benz have committed to using carbon fiber extensively in the future as well.

“The fact is that nobody today has a real understanding of what happens if you damage a carbon fiber structure. After 20 or 30 years of use, who knows what state a carbon fiber structure will be in?” Felisa gave as his reason behind limiting the use of carbon fiber to Ferrari’s exotic supercars.

What do you think about the Ferrari Enzo replacement and what Amedeo Felisa has to say about it?

Join the discussion. Please leave a comment.

Check me out on Twitter: http://twitter.com/FerrariDreams and Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/rick.resch

Source: autocar.co.uk via rumors.automobilemag.com

With the new 458 Italia ready to go, the 458 Spider on its way, and the California still fresh on the market, Ferrari is turning its attention from the V8 range to its V12 flagships. CAR sat down with the company’s CEO and managing director Amedeo Felisa, who revealed the full roll-out schedule for not one, not two, but three new V12 supercars currently under development in Maranello.

First to be replaced will be the 612 Scaglietti which has been on the market since 2004. Five years on the market may not seem like a long time, but the Scag hasn’t exactly won the hearts and minds of enthusiasts and customers. And due to this, Ferrari is apparently moving ahead with its replacement, due to hit the market by 2012.

Around the same time, we can expect to see the long-anticipated supercar to follow in the footsteps of the 288 GTO, F40, F50 and Enzo. Although Ferrari has been working on hybrid propulsion and other forms of green technology, those bits won’t be ready by the time the Enzo’s successor rolls around, so expect a more conventional V12 (or possibly twin turbo V8) to drive Maranello’s new benchmark.

So with the supercar already in the works, next up will be the replacement for the 599 GTB Fiorano but that will take a little longer. The two seater GT was just introduced a few years ago and was recently treated to a new HGTE package to keep it ahead of the competition. Though the new 458 Italia is already expected to outrun the Fiorano, and with arch-rival Lamborghini hard at work on a successor to the Murcielago, Ferrari insists it isn’t planning to replace the 599 before 2015.

What Ferrari do you like the most?

Join the discussion. Please leave a comment and answer the eight question survey to the right of the article where it says, “We Want Your Opinions!: Click Here to take our survey.”

Check me out at Twitter: http://twitter.com/FerrariDreams and Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/rick.resch

Source: zerotohundred.com and autoblog.com

One of the world’s most fastest modified autos – 800 bhp Ferrari F50 supercar – was on sale at Auto Trader.

The super-rare Ferrari F50 was produced from 1995 - 1997 and came fitted with a 520bhp 4.7 – liter engine.

But this Ferrari F50 has been boosted to produce a massive 800bhp – making it one of the fastest cars in the world.

The convertible F50′s trademark V12 engine has had two turbochargers with adjustable boost pressures bolted on, and is fitted with an upgraded exhaust, electrics and intercoolers to stop it from melting.

And this engine work has meant the drop-top Ferrari – widely considered to be the finest car Ferrari has ever built – can accelerate from 0-60mph in just 3 seconds.

This makes it nearly a second faster than the standard F50 and a half second faster than the Ferrari Enzo.

The car’s 800bhp makes it more powerful than the Mercedes-Benz SLR McLaren and Porsche Carrera GT, and puts it right up there with the 806bhp Koenigsegg CCX.

The modified F50 also features upgraded brakes, suspension, and 3-piece ‘BBS’ style alloy wheels, while the interior has been stripped to reduce weight and improve handling and acceleration.

It was built to celebrate the company’s 50th anniversary and just 349 models were built.

Ferrari spokesperson Antonio Ghini once said: “Ferraris are something cultural, a monument.

“They must be hard to find, so we will produce one less than the market.”

Source: autotrader.co.uk